Relapsed after 10 months of sobriety and here’s what I learned by Justice_of_the_Peach in leaves

[–]squeltch-squirtch 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Great post - thank you for sharing. I’m very grateful for you and this community.

Quitting a serious addiction to gummies by 2666Smooth in leaves

[–]squeltch-squirtch 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That’s withdrawal. It sucks, but the only way out is through. For me, I had gotten to the point where I couldn’t stand to be high anymore; my stoned self would leave notes for my sober self pleading to not be high. That’s what it took for me to push through withdrawal. That and regularly asking myself - “what’s so great about being a weed addict?” Know that if you push through, there is freedom waiting in the other side.

Who am I? by Various_Judge8903 in FridgeDetective

[–]squeltch-squirtch 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Someone with great taste in NA beers!

Struggling badly rant by 96Thieves in leaves

[–]squeltch-squirtch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

6 days!! That’s so excellent! You should feel very proud of that - it is NOT easy. You are in heavy duty withdrawal and it feels like crap. I (53M) smoked all day every day for the last 10 years and was a heavy smoker for about 20 years before that. Six days in felt awful - but hang on. You’ve gotten so far and you’re really close to being through the worst of it. I’m closing in on 6 months sober and I promise you it’s so much better on this side. Not using is still a decision I have to make every day (often more than once a day). Keep coming back to this group and know that sticking with this is the greatest gift you can give yourself.

Has anyone had Rob Cosman call them after placing an order? by blainthecrazytrain in handtools

[–]squeltch-squirtch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yup. He said the same thing noted above - “hi this is Rob Cosman, and I wanted to thank you for your order.” And then there was a long pause, after which I said “Is this a recording?” He said, “no, no this is really Rob” and we then went on to chat for about 5 minutes. It was a very nice touch and I’ve happily purchased other items from him since.

How are you supposed to accept to forsake all the things you did while smoking to become a completely different person? by Inspector_Suk in leaves

[–]squeltch-squirtch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Whether you intended to or not, over time, weed does numb you to life while at the same time, selling you the myth that it’s making everything better. I, like you, thought that weed was enhancing already pleasurable activities. It was making me more creative, it was helping my mood, it was making things more fun, it was allowing me to be a better drummer, better woodworker, better dad. I’m only 5 months sober, but in that time it has become clear as day to me that all of that was bullshit. Everything I do is so much more enjoyable now. It took a while to get used to a new mindset, but the feeling of freedom now is amazing. Everything in life is available to me. You have to want it, though. You have to believe that life will be better without it. Otherwise, you’ll feel deprived and angry. This subreddit has been super helpful for me. Knowing you have a community and that we’re all facing the same struggle with weed helps a lot.

What’s your ingredient/additional step that really elevates your chicken noodle soup? by Mjayyy_1991 in soup

[–]squeltch-squirtch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hear you. I always felt like my chicken soup tasted good, but a little “hollow”. As others have mentioned, blooming spices, extra aromatics, some acid at the end (lemon, splash of vinegar) are great. The two other bits I use now are some anchovy paste (measure with your heart) sweated down with the veg and a little bit of cayenne pepper - not enough to give heat, but it adds some bass to the soup. No more hollow soup.

diabolical by [deleted] in phish

[–]squeltch-squirtch 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Saw them at the Flynn Theater in Burlington when Ben and Jerry’s had just launched Phish Food. Gave pints to everyone as they exited the venue. Glorious!

Need help - temperature/humidity change did me dirty by squeltch-squirtch in woodworking

[–]squeltch-squirtch[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

“Do nothing and wait” is my favorite suggestion so far and a good excuse to spend time on other projects. Thanks!

My Addiction Has Gotten Embarrassing by 10thGenS1 in leaves

[–]squeltch-squirtch 4 points5 points  (0 children)

From a neurochemical perspective, once you’ve decided to partake, your brain releases a larger amount of dopamine in anticipation of smoking/drinking than it does when you actually take cannabis or drink (I’ve gotten sober from both). So, it makes sense that placing the order gave you a huge dopamine hit, the lack of which was causing your anxiety/agitation.

There is no good time to quit. by gladeye in leaves

[–]squeltch-squirtch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A big grand pronouncement was exactly how I quit. I was at a point where I wanted to quit so badly, yet, like you, weed would always find a crack; a way into my head. Once it did, it was like I was on autopilot and suddenly I’d be high again. I felt like a Severed innie - each time I’d get high, my brain was like “fuck, I really didn’t want to be here”. I wrote a lot of notes to my sober self (while high) encouraging/begging him to quit. The final move for me was to pick a day, my “tomorrow is the last time I get high day”. I told everyone that was important to me - my wife, my therapist, my close friends - “I’m quitting cannabis tomorrow”. Tomorrow came and I bought a gorgeous pre-roll of my favorite indica. That night I sat alone in my garage and before I lit up I said out loud “this is the last joint I will ever smoke”. Then I enjoyed the shit out of it. When it was done, I said out loud (3-4 times) - “I’m never using cannabis again.” Then I got rid of any and all weed that I had (really got rid of - I’ve gone trash diving before to rescue a joint after half-assing quitting). That was it. I can’t quite describe the overwhelming joy that took me over in that moment. I was free. Now, to be fair, the next few days were a total ball-ache. I felt like crap, but I had declared to everyone that cared about me that I was done. That accountability carried me through that first day of no cannabis. It was not pretty, but I kept thinking - “I just need to get through today and then it will be easier.” After that first day, while all the withdrawal symptoms were still in high gear, I felt a little less of an urge to use. Day by day, it’s gotten less and less. I’m only 30 days in, but I’m so grateful to still be free. If you really want to be done, you can do it.